Modern Pentathlon - Pentathlon Event - Olympic Pentathlon Modern Pentathlon - Pentathlon Event - Olympic Pentathlon An athletic event comprising of five events Discus throw, Javelin, long jump, foot race and wrestling. Modern Pentathlon opposed to this comprises of Pistol Shooting, Fencing, Swimming, Riding & Running. Pentathlon Pentathlon is a composite athletic event, encompassing target shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian Show Jumping and cross-country running. Pentathlon games are an optimum blend of an athlete’s strength, skill, timing, endurance and determination. Each contestant must participate in all five sporting events, one after the other in order to win the pentathlon. Pentathlon History Ancient Greek Pentathlon, a primitive version of the modern day pentathlon was introduced during 708 BC. The sport comprised five games - Discus, Javelin, long jump, foot race and wrestling. Discus, Javelin and Long jump were categorized solely as pentathlon events and were generally not played as individual sports. These games were a test of a participant’s strength and timing. The discus throw area was very small and barely sufficient for an individual to stand erect.

The discus to be thrown weighed around 14 pounds, 10 ounces. The ancient Greek javelin was 6 feet long and as thick as a finger. It was made of wood and contained a metal point at the end. A throw strap was wrapped in the middle to provide the participants a better grip. Long jump was accompanied by carrying weights. Contestants carried stone or metal weights of four to eight pounds during long jumps. There were four categories of foot races. ‘ Stade’ – 200 yards race ‘ Diaulos’ and ‘Hoplitodromos’ – Known as race in armor, 400 yards long ‘Dolichos’ – Races that ranged between 7-24 stades, although they averaged at 20 stades. In wrestling, the opponents grappled each other to the ground without striking. Participants rubbed themselves in oil and power/dust to get a good grip. Wrestling was categorized into three groups – boys, youth and men. Pentathlon was an entirely men’s event until women participation began around the late 1970s. The first women’s world championship was played in the year 1980.

Modern pentathlon games are single day sporting events that embrace five different sports, played one after the other in the predetermined sequence. Each game is designed to test the contestant’s skill, dexterity, focus and agility. Accurate timing and precision is fundamental to the sport. Modern Pentathlon Events Modern pentathlon originated from the military and was a test of the officers’ courage, co-ordination, physical fitness, self-discipline and flexibility. The pentathlon games initially lasted for five days with one event contested each day. In 1984, it was made a four-day event, with both pistol shooting and cross-country run conducted on the fourth and final day. Since 1996, the pentathlon is held as a single day event with all five events contested one after another. Modern pentathlon games are scored on a scale of 1000 points for the prescribed time. For any amount of time taken beyond or below the prescribed time, the prescribed point limit is reduced or added to the initial start up points. Pistol Shooting – The range of the target is 10 meters and contestants generally use a big bore standard rifle. Each contestant is allowed 20 shots within a time period of 40 seconds.

The target is a stationary concentric ring 155 mm in diameter. An optimum pentathlon score is 172 out of 200 that gives the contestant 1000 pentathlon points. The shooting targets are changed after each shot. The shooting program is 5 sighting shots in 5 minutes, 10 shots precision fired in 10 minutes and 10 rapid-fire shots in 1 minute. 12 pentathlon points are gained for every target point above 172 whereas 12 pentathlon points are reduced for every target point below 172. Fencing – For fencing matches, epee swords are used and the target is the opponent’s entire body. Scoring is done through electronic tips at the end of each sword. Either contestant has to achieve one hit per minute, else it is registered as defeat for both. Swimming – Participants have to cover a distance of over 200 m in free-style. The favorable time limits in order to gain 1000 pentathlon points are 2 minutes 30 seconds for men and 2 minutes 40 seconds for women.

Every 3/10 seconds above or below this time will result in a subtraction or addition of 4 points. Riding – Show jumping obstacles is the most challenging among all pentathlon events since the contestants ride unfamiliar horses that are randomly picked by lots. The riding track is 350-400m in length and the obstacles may be up to 120 cm high and 130 cm wide. Each participant is entitled 5 practice fences. Riding competitions start with 1,100 points. A rider loses 30, 40 or 60 points respectively for every knockdown, disobedience to jump and fall off from the horse. Running – Pentathlon running is a 3,000m cross-country/road course for both men and women. The regular score is 100 points within 10 minutes for men and 11 minutes 20 seconds for women. For every half-second above or below this standard, the contestant gains or loses 2 points. Olympic Pentathlon Modern pentathlon games were introduced in the 1912 Olympics.

Initially only army officers participated in modern pentathlon games and they were a test of military skills among the military academies. The credit for the Olympic pentathlon goes to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, chief founder of modern Olympic games. Women’s pentathlon was introduced in the 20 Olympic games. Olympic pentathlon games initially comprised: - 5000-meter cross-country ride 22-caliber pistol shot from 25 meters at moving target. Pentathlon World Championships The pentathlon world championships are played each non-Olympic year. The championships are held for men and women participants as well as for junior contestants (boys and girls 17-18 years). Pentathlon World Championships include an additional event – Team Relay. 16 teams of 3 contestants each participate in the continuous relay. Each team member contributes individual scores – Firing – 10 shots per participants. Swimming – 100 meters Fencing – one member from opposite team. Riding – 8 show jumps per participant. The pentathlon world championship is conducted in three stages. Qualifying stage for male and female contestants.

Semifinals for individual competition Modern pentathlon - 必应 Sign in Modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five events: fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting, and a 3200 m cross-country run. The sport has been a core sport of the Olympic Games since 1912, and since 1949 an annual World Championship has been held. Originally the competition took place over four or five days; however in 1996 a one-day format was adopted in an effort to be more audience-friendly. However, modern pentathlon, despite its long Olympic history, ... (展开) has had to justify its inclusion in the modern Olympic Games several times. On February 11, 2013 in Lausanne, the IOC confirmed modern pentathlon once again as one of the 25 core sports of the Olympic program through until 2020. The governing body, Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), administers the international sport in more than 90 countries in all the continents of the world.

Modern pentathlon History The foundation of the modern pentathlon is disputed. On the one hand Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, claimed authorship. On the other hand, Viktor Balck, the President of the Organizing Committee for the 1912 Games showed that he made use of the long tradition of Swedish military multi-sports events, to create a manageable modern pentathlon. The name derives from the Greek péntathlon "contest of five events". The addition of modern to the name distinguished it from the original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games, which consisted of the stadion foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin, and discus. As the events of the ancient pentathlon were modeled after the skills of the ideal soldier of that time, Coubertin created the contest to simulate the experience of a 19th-century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: he must ride an unfamiliar horse, fight enemies with pistol and sword, swim, and run to return to his own soldiers. In the 1912 Games, with only officers competing, they were, however, permitted to use their own horses.

Up to the 1952 Olympics the ordinary cavalry soldier was considered a professional athlete, as he was riding and training horses for a living, while the officer was the amateur. As long as there was no official international federation for Modern Pentathlon an IOC committee was set up for the sport making use of the expertise of IOC members. The event was first held at the 1912 Olympic Games, and was won by Swedish athlete Gösta Lilliehöök. The modern pentathlon has been on the Olympic program continuously since 1912. A team event was added to the Olympic Games in 1952 and discontinued in 1992. After much lobby work of the President of the German Modern Pentathlon Federation Prof. Wilhelm Henze, women were for the first time admitted on a trial basis at the World Championships in San Antonio in 1977, and at the official world championships in 1981. An event for women was added in 2000. A World Championship is held every year. The competitions include Men and Women's Individual and Team event together with relay events for Men and Women and, since 2010, a mixed relay event.

Except for the fencing competition, athletes do not directly compete against one another in the five events. Athletes gain points for their performance in each event and scores are combined to give the overall total. This is similar to the procedure for the decathlon in track and field athletics. However, an innovation was introduced in 2009 to make the finale of the pentathlon more exciting. The last event is the Combined event: laser pistol shooting and cross-country running. Competitors are ranked according to their score from the first three disciplines and given start times accordingly, with the leader going first, and other starting times being dependent on the number of points already scored. The first person to cross the finish line, therefore, will be the overall points leader and win the pentathlon. This method of finishing the competition would also eventually find use in winter events; the Gundersen method details a means by which a similar finish is achieved in the Nordic combined.[citation needed] The fencing discipline uses the épée. The competition is a round-robin, meaning each competitor will face all the other competitors once. Each match lasts up to one minute; the first fencer to score a hit wins instantly. Double hits are not counted.

If neither scores within one minute, they both lose the match. The swimming discipline is a 200 m freestyle race. Until the 2000 Olympics, the distance was 300 metres. Competitors are seeded in heats according to their fastest time over the distance. The riding discipline involves show jumping over a 350–450 m course with 12 to 15 obstacles. Competitors are paired with horses in a draw 20 minutes before the start of the event. This unusual skill—the riding of a horse that is previously unknown to the rider—is unique in the world of sport and is one of the elements which gives Modern Pentathlon its special character. Until 2009, the shooting discipline involved using a 4.5 mm air pistol in the standing position from 10 metres distance at a stationary target. The format was that of the 10 metre air pistol competition: each competitor had 20 shots, with 40 seconds allowed for each shot. In 2009 the combined event was born.

This involved a combination of the running and shooting events so that each competitor ran three 1000 m laps, each prefaced by hitting five targets with a pistol. Beginning with the Rancho Mirage World Cup (Feb 2011), the pistols changed to a laser instead of an actual projectile. There is a slight delay between the trigger pull and the laser firing, simulating the time it would take for a pellet to clear the muzzle. The running discipline involved a 3 km cross-country race until 2009 when it combined with the shooting event. From the start of the 2013 season, the combined event has changed again to consist of four 800m laps each prefaced by laser shooting at five targets. This change is intended to restore some of the importance of the shooting skill felt to have been lost in the original 2009 combined event. Until the 2000 Olympics, the distance was 4 kilometres. The combined event is similar to the biathlon at the Winter Olympic Games, which combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. However, whereas biathletes carry their rifles while skiing, pentathletes do not carry their pistols while running.

The change has been criticized as altering too radically the nature of the skills required. The New York Times asked whether the name ought to be changed to "tetrathlon" given that two of the five disciplines had been combined into a single event. In the new format, in each of the four rounds of firing, athletes have to successfully shoot five targets, loading the gun after each shot. They may resume running once they have five successful hits, or once the maximum shooting time of 50 seconds has expired. Misses are not penalised. The new format maintains the principle that the overall winner will be the first to cross the finish line. Modern pentathlon References ^ a b c d e f g h i Branch, John (November 26, 2008). "Modern Pentathlon Gets a Little Less Penta". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-27. This recent combination of the shooting and running phases creates an exciting conclusion to the competition. ^ "Special Edition: Refuting IOC's Plan to End Modern Pentathlon Competition". The Sport Journal. Fall 2002. Retrieved 2012-08-22.

^ Sandra Heck: Von Spielenden Soldaten und kämpfenden Athleten. Die Genese des Modernen Fünfkampfes. Göttingen: V & R Unipress. 2013, ISBN 978-3-8471-0201-4 ^ Arnd Krüger: Forgotton Decisions. The IOC on the Eve of World War I, in: Olympika 6 (1997), 85 – 98. ( ^ Uta Engels: "Now the Problem: Modern Pentathlon for Ladies." Zur Rolle Prof. Dr. Peter-Wilhem Henzes bei der Entwicklung des Modernen Frauenfünfkampfes, in: Arnd Krüger & Bernd Wedemeyer (eds.): Aus Biographien Sportgeschichte lernen. Festschrift zum 90. Geburtstag von Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Henze. Hoya: Niedersächsisches Institut für Sportgeschichte 2000, S. 47 -66. ISBN 3-932423-07-0 ^ a b "Modern Pentathlon".

'Good Luck Beijing'. 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2008-11-27. ^ "Can Lasers Save the Modern Pentathlon?". 2012-08-12. ^ "Rules for Combined Event Running and Shooting" (PDF). UIPM. Retrieved 2012-08-12. TeamJames.org show jumping a final combined event of pistol shooting and a 3200 m cross-country run The sport has been a core sport of the Olympic Games since 1912 and since 1949 an annual World Championship has been held. The Modern Pentathlon was invented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. The name derives from the Greek pente- "five" and -athlon "contest". The addition of modern to the name distinguished it from the original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games, which consisted of the stadion foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin, and discus.

As the events of the ancient pentathlon were modeled after the skills of the ideal soldier of that time, Coubertin created the contest to simulate the experience of a 19th-century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: he must ride an unfamiliar horse, fight with pistol and sword, swim, and run. History of Modern Pentathlon The event was first held at the 1912 Olympic Games and has been on the Olympic program continuously since 1912. A team event was added to the Olympic Games in 1952 and discontinued in 1992. An event for women was added in 2000. A World Championship is held every year. The competitions include Men and Women's Individual and Team event together with relay events for Men and Women and, since 2010, a mixed relay event. Except for the fencing competition, athletes do not directly compete against one another in the five events. Athletes gain points for their performance in each event and scores are combined to give the overall total. This is similar to the procedure for the decathlon in track and field athletics. However, an innovation was introduced to make the finale of the pentathlon more exciting.

The last event is the Combined event: laser pistol shooting and cross-country running. Competitors are ranked according to their score from the first three disciplines and given start times accordingly, with the leader going first, and other starting times being dependent on the number of points already scored. The first person to cross the finish line, therefore, will be the overall points leader and win the pentathlon. This method of finishing the competition would also eventually find use in winter events; the Gundersen method details a means by which a similar finish is achieved in the Nordic combined. The Events The fencing discipline uses the epee. The competition is a round-robin, meaning each competitor will face all the other competitors once. Each match lasts up to one minute; the first fencer to score a hit wins instantly. Double hits are not counted. If neither scores within one minute, they both lose the match. The swimming discipline is a 200 m freestyle race. Competitors are seeded in heats according to their fastest time over the distance. The riding discipline involves show jumping over a 350-450 m course with 12 to 15 obstacles.

Competitors are paired with horses in a draw 20 minutes before the start of the event. This unusual skill - the riding of a horse that is previously unknown to the rider - is unique in the world of sport and is one of the elements which gives Modern Pentathlon its special character. The Combined event consists of running four 800m laps each prefaced by laser shooting at five targets from 10 meters. The Combined event is similar to the biathlon at the Winter Olympic Games, which combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. However, whereas biathletes carry their rifles while skiing, pentathletes will not carry their pistols while running. The change has been criticized as altering too radically the nature of the skills required. The New York Times asked whether the name ought to be changed to "tetrathlon" given that two of the five disciplines had been combined into a single event. However, its effect in making the conclusion of the 2012 Olympic event so exciting has convinced the world that it is a valid solution and the five constituent events are still equally demanding and distinct from each other. In the new format, in each of the four rounds of firing, athletes have to successfully shoot five targets, loading the gun after each shot.

They may resume running once they have five successful hits, or once the maximum shooting time of 50 seconds has expired. Misses are not penalized. The new format maintains the principle that the overall winner will be the first to cross the finish line. Copyright 2017TeamJames.org℠ Modern Pentathlon - List of Sports List of Sports The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting , épée fencing , 200 m freestyle swimming , show jumping , and a 3 km cross-country run . The sport is governed by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), the International Modern Pentathlon Union. Format Except for the fencing competition, athletes do not directly compete against one another in the five events. Instead, a better absolute performance results in a higher points score; points for each event are combined to give the overall total scores. This is similar to the procedure for the decathlon in track and field athletics . However, an innovation was introduced to make the finale of the pentathlon more exciting. The last event is the cross-country run.

Competitors are ranked according to their score from the first four disciplines and given different start times, with the leader going first, and other starts staggered by points differential such that the first person to cross the finish line will be the overall points leader and win the pentathlon. This method of finishing the competition would also eventually find use in winter events; the Gundersen method details a means by which a similar finish is achieved in the Nordic combined . The fencing discipline uses the épée . The competition is a round-robin , meaning each competitor will face all the other competitors once. Each match lasts up to one minute; the first fencer to score a hit wins instantly. If neither scores within one minute, both lose the match. The swimming discipline is a 200 m freestyle race. Until the 2000 Olympics, the distance was 300 metres. Competitors are seeded in heats according to their fastest time over the distance. The riding discipline involves show jumping over a 350–450 m course with 12 to 15 obstacles. Competitors are paired with horses in a draw 20 minutes before the start of the event.

The shooting discipline involves using a 4.5 mm air pistol in the standing position from 10 metres distance at a stationary target. Until the 2008 rules change, the format was that of the 10 metre air pistol competition: each competitor had 20 shots, with 40 seconds allowed for each shot. Beginning with the Rancho Mirage World Cup (Feb 2011), the pistols have changed to a laser instead of an actual projectile. There is a slight delay between the trigger pull and the laser firing, simulating the time it would take for a pellet to clear the muzzle. The running discipline involves a 3 km cross-country race. Until the 2000 Olympics , the distance was 4000 metres. In November 2008, the UIPM voted to change the format from the start of 2009. The running and shooting disciplines are to be contested in tandem. Athletes will have three bouts of shooting each followed by a 1000 m run. This is similar to the biathlon at the Winter Olympic Games , which combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting .

However, whereas biathletes carry their rifles while skiing, pentathletes will not carry their pistols while running. The change has been criticized as altering too radically the nature of the skills required. The New York Times asked whether the name ought to be changed to “tetrathlon” given that two of the five disciplines had been combined into a single event. In the new format, in each of the three rounds of firing, athletes have to shoot five targets, loading the gun after each shot; they may then resume running. Misses are not penalised, but exceeding a maximum total time of 70 seconds will result in a penalty. The interruption of the pistol shooting will alter the format of the race, but not the principle that the overall winner will be the first to cross the finish line. Modern pentathlon : Map (The Full Wiki) The Full Wiki Wikipedia article: Map showing all locations mentioned on Wikipedia article: The modern pentathlon is a sports contest that includes five events: pistol shooting , épée fencing , 200 m freestyle swimming , show jumping , and a 3 km cross-country run . The sport is governed by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM), the International Modern Pentathlon Union.

History The modern pentathlon was invented by the Baron Pierre de Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympic Games . The name derives from the Greek penta- "five" and -athlon "contest". The addition of modern to the name distinguished it from the original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games , which consisted of the stadion foot race , wrestling , long jump , javelin , and discus . As the events of the ancient pentathlon were modeled after the skills of the ideal soldier of that time, Coubertin created the contest to simulate the experience of a 19th century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: he must ride an unfamiliar horse, fight with pistol and sword, swim, and run. The event was first held at the 1912 Olympic Games , and was won by Swedish athlete Gösta Lilliehöök . The modern pentathlon has been on the Olympic program continuously since 1912. A team event was added to the Olympic Games in 1952 and discontinued in 1992 . An event for women was added in 2000 . In non-Olympic years, a World Championship is held, beginning in 1949.

Originally the competition took place over four or five days; however in 1996 a one-day format was adopted in an effort to be more audience-friendly. In spite of the event's strong pedigree in the modern Olympics, and its status as the only event created specifically for the modern Olympic Games, its lack of widespread popularity outside Eastern Europe has led to calls for its removal from the Olympic Games in recent years. However, a vote by the IOC on July 8, 2005, keeps it in the Olympic program at least until 2012 . Format Except for the fencing competition, athletes do not directly compete against one another in the five events. Instead, a better absolute performance results in a higher points score; points for each event are combined to give the overall total scores. This is similar to the procedure for the decathlon in track and field athletics . However, an innovation was introduced to make the finale of the pentathlon more exciting. The last event is the cross-country run.

Competitors are ranked according to their score from the first four disciplines and given different start times, with the leader going first, and other starts staggered by points differential such that the first person to cross the finish line will be the overall points leader and win the pentathlon. The fencing discipline uses the épée . The competition is a round-robin , meaning each competitor will face all the other competitors once. Each match lasts up to one minute; the first fencer to score a hit wins instantly. If neither scores within one minute, both lose the match. The swimming discipline is a 200 m freestyle race. Until the 2000 Olympics, the distance was 300 metres. Competitors are seeded in heats according to their fastest time over the distance. The riding discipline involves show jumping over a 350–450 m course with 12 to 15 obstacles. Competitors are paired with horses in a draw 20 minutes before the start of the event. The shooting discipline involves using a 4.5 mm air pistol in the standing position from 10 metres distance at a stationary target.

Until the 2008 rules change, the format was that of the 10 metre air pistol competition: each competitor had 20 shots, with 40 seconds allowed for each shot. In the new format, in each of the three rounds of firing, athletes have to shoot five targets, loading the gun after each shot; they may then resume running. Misses are not penalised, but exceeding a maximum total time of 70 seconds will be. The running discipline involves a 3 km cross-country race. Until the 2000 Olympics , the distance was 4000 metres. The interruption of the pistol shooting will alter the format of the race, but not the principle that the overall winner will be the first to cross the finish line. In November 2008, the UIPM voted to change the format from the start of 2009. The running and shooting disciplines are to be contested in tandem. Athletes will have have three bouts of shooting at five targets each followed by a 1000 m run. This is similar to the biathlon at the Winter Olympic Games , which combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting .

However, whereas biathletes carry their rifles while skiing, pentathletes will not carry their pistols while running. The change has been criticized as altering too radically the nature of the skills required. The New York Times asked whether the name ought to be changed to "tetrathlon" given that two of the five disciplines had been combined into a single event. See also Spectators Guide to Modern Pentathlon Spectators Guide to Modern Pentathlon Spectators Guide to Modern Pentathlon Print Jan. 24, 2015, 12 a.m. (ET) Modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five events: fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting, and a 3200 m cross-country run. The sport has been a core sport of the Olympic Games since 1912, and since 1949 an annual World Championship has been held. The name derives from the Greek penta- "five" and -athlon "contest".

[1] The addition of modern to the name distinguished it from the original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic Games, which consisted of the stadion foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin, and discus. As the events of the ancient pentathlon were modeled after the skills of the ideal soldier of that time, Pierre de Coubertin created the contest to simulate the experience of a 19th-century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: he must ride an unfamiliar horse, fight with pistol and sword, swim, and run. Except for the fencing competition, athletes do not directly compete against one another in the five events. Athletes gain points for their performance in each event and scores are combined to give the overall total. This is similar to the procedure for the decathlon in track and field athletics. However, an innovation was introduced in 2009 to make the finale of the pentathlon more exciting. The last event is the Combined event: laser pistol shooting and cross-country running. Competitors are ranked according to their score from the first three disciplines and given start times accordingly, with the leader going first, and other starting times being dependent on the number of points already scored.

The first person to cross the finish line, therefore, will be the overall points leader and win the pentathlon. The fencing discipline uses the épée . The competition is a round-robin, meaning each competitor will face all the other competitors once. Each match lasts up to one minute; the first fencer to score a hit wins instantly. Double hits are not counted. If neither scores within one minute, they both lose the match. A new innovation this year is the fencing bonus round which will take place after the round-robin round. The fencers will be able to pick-up additional points as the 36th finisher in the round-robin will fence the 35th finisher with the winner fencing the 34th finisher. This continues till the winner of the round-robin will face the last remaining winner of this round. The swimming discipline is a 200 m freestyle race. Until the 2000 Olympics, the distance was 300 meters. Competitors are seeded in heats according to their fastest time over the distance. The riding discipline involves show jumping over a 350–450 m course with 12 to 15 obstacles.

Competitors are paired with horses in a draw 20 minutes before the start of the event. This unusual skill - the riding of a horse that is previously unknown to the rider - is unique in the world of sport and is one of the elements which gives Modern Pentathlon its special character. The shooting discipline has been combined with the running discipline to form a combined event. The shooting involves using a 4.5 mm air pistol in the standing position from 10 metres distance at a stationary target. The running discipline consists of four 800m laps each prefaced by laser shooting at five targets. The pentathletes must hit the target 5 times within 50 seconds. After 50 seconds they can continue running regardless of how many targets they hit. There is a staggered start based on points earned until the start of the combined event. The winner starts the combined event first followed by each person staggered by the point differential. One point is equal to one second. The winner of the over-all competition is the first one to cross the finish line. The first World Cup of the 2015 season will take place at Sarasota Bradenton, Florida from 17-22 February.

Soldier earns Olympic berth in Modern Pentathlon at Pan American Games | Article | The United States Army Soldier earns Olympic berth in Modern Pentathlon at Pan American Games By Tim Hipps, Army Installation Management CommandJuly 20, 2015 Share via Email 1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Nathan Schrimsher of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program rides a horse named Taboo en route to earning a berth for the 2016 Olympic Games with a third-place finish in men's Modern Pentathlon at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, July 19, 2015. (Photo Credit: Tim Hipps) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Nathan Schrimsher of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program earns a berth for the 2016 Olympic Games with a third-place finish in the men's Modern pentathlon event at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, July 19, 2015. (Photo Credit: Tim Hipps) VIEW ORIGINAL 3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc.

Nathan Schrimsher of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program defeats Emmanual Zapata of Argentina in a fencing bonus round bout en route to earning a berth for the 2016 Olympic Games with a third-place finish in men's Modern Pentathlon at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, July 19, 2015. (Photo Credit: Tim Hipps) VIEW ORIGINAL 4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After waiting on deck through a long rain delay, Olympian Sgt. Dennis Bowsher of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program enters the equestrian show jumping ring aboard Donaghan during the men's Modern Pentathlon competition at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, July 19, 2015. Bowsher finished eighth on the ride and 10th overall in the five-sports-in-one-day event. (Photo Credit: Tim Hipps) VIEW ORIGINAL 5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Olympian Sgt.

Dennis Bowsher, third from left, starts the 200-meter freestyle swim portion of the men's Modern Pentathlon event at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, July 19, 2015. Bowsher finished seventh in swimming with a time of 2 minutes, 6.10 seconds and 10th in Modern Pentathlon with 1,348 points. (Photo Credit: Tim Hipps) VIEW ORIGINAL TORONTO (July 19, 2015) -- Spc. Nathan Schrimsher earned an automatic berth into the 2016 Rio Olympic Games with a third-place finish in men's Modern Pentathlon on a stormy Sunday at the 2015 Pan American Games. Schrimsher, 23, a Soldier in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, or WCAP, from Roswell, New Mexico, took the bronze medal in the five-sports-in-one-day event with 1,421 points. "I'm ecstatic," Schrimsher said. "Yes, sir, it's awesome." WCAP Sgt.

Dennis Bowsher, 32, a 2012 Olympian from Dallas, finished 10th with 1,348 points in the event, which includes fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping and combines cross-country running and laser pistol shooting - all in one day. "I think my day was OK," Bowsher said. "I'm definitely feeling my age. The whole goal today was for one of us to get an Olympic quota spot, so mission accomplished. Half the team is now Army, so next is for either myself or Logan Storie to get it another spot basically off world-ranking points over the next year. "All three of us definitely are going to push each other, that way we can get one more, along with Schrimsher, on the [U.S. Olympic] team." Charles Fernandez of Guatemala won the gold with 1,444 points, followed by silver medalist Ismael Hernandez Uscanga of Mexico with 1,439 points.

Fourth and fifth-place finishers Jose Figueroa (1,415) of Cuba and Emmanuel Zapata (1,413) of Argentina also punched tickets to Rio de Janeiro by virtue of by-name Olympic berths awarded to the top five. The 800-meter cross-country running course consisted of rain-soaked turf atop loose sod, which offered little stability for the runners, who stopped four times to hit a target five times from 10 meters with laser pistols. The competitor, who amassed the most points in the first three events - fencing, swimming and horseback riding - started first, followed by the rest of the field that faced a one-second handicap for each pentathlon point by which they trailed the leader. Therefore, the first competitor to cross the finish line was the gold medalist, followed in order by the remainder of the field.

"I was very, very happy about Nathan, especially because he had a lot of pressure from the best [combined run-and-shooters] in the world, Esteban Bustos [of Chile, who finished sixth] and Jose Figueroa [who finished fourth] from Cuba, I was worried that they could pass him," said Janusz Peciak, head coach of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon squad. "But he really ran very smart. "This running course was not designed for him because he is big and it was raining and soaked, very wet," Pesiak said. "The Mexicans and the Chileans are very light on their feet so it was much easier for them to run. But he did a fantastic job, and he shot very well. His shooting was the key." Schrimsher knew what was required to accomplish the mission. "Running is probably where I struggle in the pentathlon, and the ground was wet," he said. "I was sinking to up over my ankles in a few spots. I knew I really had to focus on shooting, and I shot well. The shooting was what got it. Running, I just ran my race.

If somebody got past me, I knew [Hernandez Uscanga] would, I didn't let it bother me. I just ran my race." The first thunderstorm came shortly before Bowsher was scheduled to enter the riding course aboard a horse named Donaghan. "It just started pouring, so they pulled me off," Bowsher said. "Then I got to be the first one to experiment with that muddy field." Bowsher experienced firsthand how the waiting can be the hardest part. "You just don't know when you're going," he said. "You're warming up. You're getting your adrenaline up and getting ready to ride, then have to come down, but then you don't know when to bring it back up again because you don't know when you're going. But it was fun." Bowsher outsprinted Canadian Josh Riker-Fox to the line for a top-10 finish. "I could hear the crowd, and I thought: 'Oh, great, he must be right behind me.' Then I glanced, and sure enough, he was like two feet right behind me. I just put my head down and was able to hold him off - a small bit of satisfaction not hearing the roar as the Canadian passes me.

I was able to quiet them a little bit." Bowsher, a three-time Pan American Games competitor, who is scheduled next month to attend the Army's Advanced Leadership Course on Fort Lee, Virginia, is proud of Schrimsher's accomplishment. "He's been in the Army for a couple of years and I've been showing him the ropes, both within the military and I think in pentathlon, as well," Bowsher said. "I'm glad I've been able to help and see him improve. It's just a wonderful thing for him." RELATED LINKS

Question: Swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting and cross-country running are four of the sports which make up the Modern Pentathlon. Name the other.
Answer: FENCING